Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus
by Mrs.Phineas Bogg
Summary: Superboy awakens to find the entire city frozen in time. He meets Evie, a young half-alien girl from California with amazing powers. Evie needs Superboy to help her father save his planet Antareus from a hostile take-over that could spill over into earth.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is the melding of two of my favorite quirky and awesome shows from the late eighties and early nineties-_The Adventures of Superboy_ and the sitcom_ Out of this world_. Don't ask me how this idea came to me, but if you remember the shows at all or are just curious to see what the blazes is going on, please read along! :D**

**The Adventures of Superboy: The liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 1**

The loud buzz of his alarm clock abruptly woke Clark from a pleasurable deep sleep. It was the kind of slumber that came sporadically, in between investigating bizarre activity and mundane filing errands at work, and soaring around the planet day and night protecting the innocent as Superboy. He raised his hand, and was ready to slam down on the 'alarm off' button when he remembered this was the fourth clock he had bought in two months from that maneuver. His super-strength always flattened them to pancake proportions.

"I could open a clock factory with all the ones I break." He spoke aloud.

Clark heaved a sigh and gently pressed the button to shut it off. He rolled out of bed and began his morning routine of a shower, heat laser shave, and methodical dress. He hated feeling rushed in the mornings and preferred not to use super speed. As he combed his thick black hair into a side-part, an unusual feeling enveloped him. It was too quiet-_much_ too quiet for the busy city street he lived on in Capitol City. He buttoned up his beige shirt to the collar to hide his Superboy outfit and put on fitted dark navy suspenders. Before going down the stairs to make some coffee he decided to peek out his window. He drew up the shades and what he saw before him caused him to gasp.

"What in the world is going on here?"

A pigeon was at his window, but it was frozen in mid-flight, just about to land on the ledge and go for the seeds he usually left out. Clark flung open the window and touched the bird carefully; it did not move or flutter in any way. He quickly scanned the sidewalks and streets below. Everyone and everything was frozen in place, in the last action they took- looking at watches, eating on the run, driving, waving down a bus or cab, talking, hugging, running to school…they were one and all motionless in time.

"Not them again! Please no!" Clark groaned, remembering the aliens who had slowed down time to nanoseconds in order test Superboy's presence and eventually overtake the world. This event didn't feel the same.

He banged the windowsill annoyed. The disturbance could be coming from anywhere. Clark put on the TV. The newscasters stared dully at the teleprompter, unmoving. He flicked through more channels; commercials and morning cartoons were inanimate. It was if the entire world was on a standstill. He peered at his alarm clock. The time was stuck at '7:30am.'

"So much for breakfast and tasting the new Turkish coffee." He grumbled.

Clark spun around fast, and was immediately in his Superboy clothes. At this point in the morning, he hadn't the faintest idea where to look. He hurried down the stairs and stepped out of his apartment building. He wondered if the people could see him in their frozen state. He passed the newsstand owner on the corner and waved his hand across his face. There was no response. He assumed their vision was blocked.

"This is gonna be loads of fun." He muttered and flew up high. His first decision was to look for anyone showing possible signs of movement, and harass them for answers until they begged for mercy.

-Oo-

Thirteen-year-old Evie Garland clutched the crystallized cube in both arms and roamed the streets of the unfamiliar Capitol City. Although still in the tropical climate of Florida, it was a far cry from her luxurious seaside neighborhood in Marlow, California. Capitol City was a bustling urban setting, much like when she and her mother Donna visited New York, though probably not as large or dirty. Evie's father Troy had brought her here on a very important mission. She had to find Superboy.

Troy was counting on Evie, because his communication from his planet was now severely limited through the cube. In many ways she was practically on her own. Evie felt bad that her father froze the people in her hometown too. He did it so her mother would not wonder where she was and go crazy looking for her. Donna was very overprotective in ways, but she would be rightly furious to know that young Evie was alone in another state. Evie decided to put the cube in her purple knapsack in case it dropped. That was the last thing she needed.

"Superboy…Superboy, where are you?" She wondered aloud. "_Superboy!_ I need you!" She shouted toward the sky. "Please come!"

Thinking of him sent pleasant shivers up her spine and she blushed hard. Almost everyone on the planet knew and loved Superboy and all he stood for; she was guilty of having more than one poster hanging above her bed to drool over before she fell asleep. She and all her friends fawned over his shiny black hair, tight muscles in the colorful uniform and his blue-gray, doe-like eyes. He had a handsome, friendly face, and a very serene nature. Evie hoped that he wouldn't be too angry that she froze everyone in his City. He always helped people in need, and right now she was one of them.

-Oo-

A beam of energy shot forth and a rectangular portal opened against a brick wall in an alleyway. Three mercenaries from the planet Xavariax marched out, brandishing weapons. The Xavarians were a fierce breed of alien, their skin tones ranging from red to purple, with hair in hues every color of the rainbow and stark black and white. They had a mouthful of tiny razor-sharp teeth and black talons for nails. These particular Xavarian mercenaries dressed in form fitting leather and tensile chains that added supple movement to their hulking frames. They were on a vital mission too. The tallest in the center stared out across the motionless city.

"The girl is in this vicinity already! I sense it. Only an Antarean would freeze time! We must find her before she gets to _him_!" He rasped.

He pushed a few buttons on a silver triangular gadget that hung off his belt loop. It was a holographic apparatus that could trace all life forms. He zeroed in on Evie and laughed cruelly. She was only three blocks away.

"Now we will show that fool Troy who really is boss! I will never forgive him for killing my father in battle." The alien Tammox, seethed. He clamped the apparatus back on his belt. "We will find her and kill her here!"

The other aliens kept silent before their commander and nodded. They were twins, sharing violet skin and emerald green hair and eyes.

"Power up your phasers to maximum. I suspect this will be an easy kill. She is but a half-human girl with limited Antarean abilities."

-Oo-

A young girl's terrified screams broke the death-like calm of the City and Superboy flew faster toward the commotion. It was the same light, sweet voice he heard pleading on the wind for him.

When he gazed down he was shocked to find three alien beings, unlike any he had seen, menacing the girl. Superboy plunged down and barreled himself into the ringleader just as he was about to slash the girl's throat with his talon. The alien slammed against the building, sending sprays of bricks flying over the sidewalk. Superboy landed and the girl clamored to her feet gratefully. She ran beside him and Superboy kept his arms protectively in front of her.

"Who are you? What are you? What have you done to this City?" He demanded.

"You have asked the wrong alien, boy of steel! Give us the girl! You have no idea of our mission!" The purple creature hissed. His words garbled with saliva. He flicked his reptilian tongue at Evie and licked his puffy lips. Evie cringed and hid further behind Superboy's cape. Who knew what vile plans the alien was hatching for her?

Superboy narrowed his eyes and stood his ground in front of her. "Not on your life, you scum!"

_"Yeah!_ Don't touch me, you're so gross!" She called out bravely.

The alien reached for his phaser and shot at them. Superboy threw out his hand to block the bright yellow beam, using a slew of force to send it back against the alien. The alien stumbled and fell hard onto the floor, cracking the concrete into chunks.

"Midox! Doxim! Quit fooling! We underestimate this one! Seize them!" Tammox shouted, pulling himself out of the brick hole his body created against the building.

Midox's twin, Doxim, rushed up against Superboy and lifted him high above his head, throwing him across the the street. Superboy crashed through a storefront window, in the process he grabbed hold of two frozen shoppers and pushed them out of the way of the shattering glass. Evie screamed and ran to help him.

Tammox pointed his finger, raising Superboy out of the glass mess with telepathy. With a magnetic force he swung his arm and Superboy went flying on top of a building. He banged against a giant billboard, bending it out of shape. The alien's magnetism stunned him and kept him locked into place. Midox clutched Evie from behind.

"Let me go, you ugly creep!" She tried to bite his scaly arm. "Purple is_ not_ your color!"

Tammox used even more force and Superboy let out a pained shout. "Leave. Her. _Alone!"_ He demanded through gritted teeth.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Evie cried. She closed her eyes and lowered her head up and down swiftly. In a flash of colors, she transported herself directly to where Superboy was. Evie miscalculated her landing and she tottered on the edge of the building.

"_Ahhh!_ Superboy! Help me!"

Superboy's eyes widened despairingly as he watched the girl fall backward. His strength came to the fore and he peeled himself off the billboard and dove after her. He caught her before the aliens could.

"I got you!" He landed gently, feeling her shudder in his arms. "You'll be okay."

The aliens laughed and encircled them. Evie closed her eyes. In a flash, a giant wall of flypaper appeared out of nowhere in a haze of translucent white, purple, and hot pink sparks of energy. The aliens were at once stuck and fumbled, entrapped in the gooey substance.

"Darn it! It was supposed to be a wall of _steel!_" She let out a puff of exasperation. "But it works! That's gonna be a killer on the hair, guys!" She called out.

Superboy backed away from them, looking very perplexed.

"How did you do all that?"

"It's called a _gleep_."

"A what?"

"A gleep, I'll explain it later, I'm kinda new at all this. I've only had my powers for three months." She clutched Superboy's arm in a fright. "They're breaking loose!"

Superboy lowered her down. He saw Tammox raise his weapon, and he leaped in front of Evie to take the blow. Before the beam could hit, Superboy counteracted with his heat vision and the beam reversed into the weapon, exploding it in Tammox's hand.

"My talons, you broke them!" He grasped his right hand in pain.

"That's gonna be a heck of manicure…" Evie mused, covering over her fears with humor.

Superboy sucked in a lot of air, and then blasted the trio with streams of cold wind. The aliens, along with the flypaper whacking against their faces, skidded down the block. Superboy did not let up and they kept rolling like tumbleweeds and they tried to claw at the street to keep from going any further.

"Midox! Doxim! Retreat for now! We must re-think our strategy! This is not over, Boy of Steel! We will capture that girl and we will destroy you too!"

"As long as I'm around, you will _never_ hurt her!" Superboy shouted to them. "And you'll never get me either!"

Evie cowered behind him, but felt a swell of courage. Superboy was going to be on her side. She peeked at the aliens one last time; they were almost too hideous to look at, despite having arms and legs and features like humans. She gleeped again and the aliens were clothed in big red and white polka dot dresses and hot pink lipstick on their slimy mouths.

"That looks much better!" She giggled nervously.

The aliens roared with displeasure and when their portal suddenly appeared, they stumbled through it, still battling against the flypaper. Superboy was stunned into laughter and then he turned to face Evie. Her powers somewhat reminded him of the imp Mxyzptlk. Perhaps she came from the fifth dimension too. He looked down at her carefully. She was a pretty blonde-haired girl, with catty, dark-blue eyes and a wide, playful grin. She cocked her head and kept her hands behind her back, then looked down shamefacedly.

"I didn't know they were going to come. I'm sorry."

Superboy forced her gaze. "What's your name? Are you the one responsible for stopping time? Or did you just freeze the people?"

"Yes! It was me. My name is Evie Ethel Garland. You can just call me Evie; mom only calls me that when I'm in trouble. Time is not moving here, Superboy. When everyone starts moving again it will still be 7:30 am. My father was going to take me directly to you, but then I lost contact with him, so I had to think fast. I know about your super hearing, and I thought it would be easier if I just froze everybody and tried to call out to you. That way you'd hear only _my_ voice. I'm _really,_ _really_ sorry. I can make them move again, I promise. Please don't be mad at me." She said in one long, anxious breath.

Superboy cracked a smile and put hand on her shoulder lightly. "Hey, I'm not mad, just _really, really_ baffled. I'm glad I did hear you and came just in time. Tell you what, why don't we have a nice long talk about this. Maybe you can tell me why those punk aliens were after you."

"Sure I will! But I don't know them; I've never seen them before. What if they come back?"

"I'm hoping they don't, we'll stick around down here in case. I don't want them hurting anyone else. Right now everyone is extremely vulnerable."

"You're right, but it is safer to keep them from getting hurt and running around."

"All right, we'll leave them for now." Superboy surveyed the damaged City block and frowned.

Evie saw he was concerned over all the damages made from the fight. Before he could attempt to fix it, she gleeped three times, restoring each battleground back to its fine condition. It was as if nothing ever occurred. Superboy shook his head in wonder.

"That's so amazing, Evie."

"It's really cool. There's a coffee shop on the corner, let's go there to talk." Evie pointed. "I'm starving."

"I hate to say this, but unless you unfreeze the cook, you'll have to do it yourself."

Evie grinned. "Oh, that's easy. I can gleep up a good breakfast for both of us."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Adventures of Superboy: The liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 2**

Superboy sat with Evie by the large diner window, peering out from time to time to make sure there was no more surprise attacks. It felt strange being amongst a small breakfast crowd with forks frozen halfway to their mouths, a waitress in the midst of pouring juice, and he laughed upon seeing two pieces of toast stuck in the air, with the cook staring up nervous and holding a plate out to catch them.

Evie certainly did gleep a fine breakfast. Out of thin air she created two plates of steaming eggs and bacon and buttered toast, along with fresh squeezed orange juice. At Superboy's request, she sprang up some Turkish coffee. Superboy gaped at the cup and Evie cupped her mouth embarrassed when he picked out a large drumstick. He waved it at her and chuckled.

"Talk about service!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Turkish coffee, not _Turkey._" She bobbed her head again and finally got it right.

Superboy sipped it happily. "_Perfect!_ Thanks for the breakfast. It tastes great. Sometimes even us Superheroes need our morning cup of Joe and a little sustenance."

Evie giggled. "Me and my friends weren't sure if you ate or slept or stuff. I guess you do. It's all real food, but sometimes things get a little lost in the translation of my brain. Like one time I turned my uncle Beano's wheat crackers into chocolate donuts…but they still tasted like wheat. He was happy though, my mother's always making him go on a diet. The last one he had lasted three days and he could only eat foods that start with 'B.' Weird. I'm glad to know you're not like...well.." Evie looked down, flustered.

"Like what, Evie?"

She looked him in the eyes. "Like those horrible, disgusting aliens we fought outside! I mean, you can't be human either, right?"

Superboy sat back, very amused. "I might have super powers, but I'm very much like a human. I've lived among them my entire life. Okay, Evie, start from the beginning and tell me everything. I want to know where you get all these powers, it makes me think you're not quite human either."

"Alright Superboy, but I'm warning you, my mom says I can talk up a storm."

"That's okay, as long as I can understand it. Go right ahead." Superboy realized that she wasn't from the fifth dimension, or else she would have announced it already they way Mxyzptlk often did.

Over the course of the meal, Evie related her life story. Her father Troy came to earth from the planet Antareus in the late sixties. All Antareans look as human as Superboy does. Troy has almost limitless powers, and can control things on earth even though he's on Antareus. Evie lamented how she had never seen Troy in person, but communicates regularly through a diamond shaped cube. It was much like they would on a telephone, but with highly sophisticated properties. Planet Antareus was far more technologically advanced than earth and had existed for eons. Evie pulled out the cube in her knapsack and placed it on the table, allowing Superboy to look it over.

"Evie, why did your father leave you and your mom? It's obvious he loves you both very much."

Evie looked down tearfully. "Sometimes I still don't understand, but he had to go back. His time on Earth was temporary, five years, long enough to compile vital data about earthlings for the Antarean archives. He didn't plan on falling in love with a human."

Superboy grew thoughtful, thinking of his strong feelings for Lana Lang. As far as he knew, his purpose was to live on earth and help the people as much as he can, though he was unsure as to his own origins. He handed her a napkin and Evie wiped her eyes.

"It's alright, Evie. Love is…funny like that."

"They were going to grant him a passport to stay, but then the war hit with the planet Xavariax and they needed him back. Those ugly aliens we fought are from Xavariax. They're always trying to conquer other planets and are totally cruel. My dad told me a peace treaty was made after the first war, but it looks like they broke it."

"That's gotta be a major problem for Antareus. I can see why they need the extra help. Do all Antareans have powers like you, Evie?"

"Definitely and a lot more. When I turned thirteen, it was time for me to get powers. I didn't even know we were aliens. I used to draw things I've never seen before, like the cube and alien stuff. My mom told me that my father could project his thoughts as holograms to my brain, so I was able to do it. When I learned I was alien, it really freaked me out for a while, I thought I was a half creature or a monster inside!"

Superboy smiled. "One look in the mirror must have convinced you you're not."

Evie ducked her head embarrassed. "Thanks. My mom told me dad was a hunk. But still, Antareans have _two_ hearts! That's double the love! I mean they couldn't have dated if he looked like Alf or E.T."

Superboy laughed. "That's true. Way too many questions."

"My dad limits my powers, and if I don't use them properly he can take them away. I try to be good, really. The worst thing I think I ever did was stop time at the little league championship so I could pretend I hit the ball. When dad found out he reversed time and I had to do it on my own. I'm glad he did. We still won fair and square!"

"If you can stop time, how is it that I never saw it happen before?"

"Well, my dad told me that he limits the power to just my vicinity. He said it would be too disruptive to the earth's natural cycle of the space-time continuum or something like that. I use the time freeze powers a lot. It really gets you out of some jams!"

"I'm sure it does. And again I ask, what's a _gleep_?"

Evie smiled shyly. "Oh, that's just the word my father and I made up for my ability to…create objects with the power of my mind-like the flypaper and the breakfast. It's still a little rusty."

Superboy grinned at her. Evie was a charming girl, and her heart was in the right place, despite her flightiness and confusion. It was called being a teenager.

"You know Evie, you and I are somewhat alike. I didn't really start developing my powers until I was thirteen too. At least, I realized I could fly, and then as the years went by my super hearing and vision grew stronger. My strength. I probably still don't have the full extent of my powers yet. It feels like the longer I stay here, the stronger I become."

"My dad adds my powers on little by little. I guess that's the wise thing to do. But he told me he couldn't give me everything, because I'm half alien…uhh,_ human. _Sometimes it's hard being so different and hiding them. Only my mother and my uncle Beano know who I really am."

Superboy finished off the coffee. "Yeah, that's true. My parents are the only ones who know my other identity…I mean, that I have powers." He added quickly.

"_Cool!_ You have a secret identity! What is it? I won't tell."

"I slipped up with that. If I tell you, it won't be much of a secret any more."

"But Superboy, I can keep secrets!"

Superboy shook his head. "I'm sorry, Evie. It's not that I don't want anyone to know; it's also very dangerous and the more people who know it, the more my enemies can hurt them. Sometimes Evie, I don't know which one is secret and which is real."

"So you have a _real_ name, not just _Superboy_? I wish you would tell me!" She pouted. "It's a little funny just calling you Super…"

"_Evie Ethel Garland! Stop harassing Superboy. He has a right to privacy. My little girl's a tad nosy, but she's a sweetheart."_

The cube opened from the middle like a straight mouth and glowed a hot pink, Evie's choice color. A deep, but pleasant voice spoke out of it. Superboy glanced at it shocked and then realized it was Troy. Evie reddened.

"I'm sorry, dad…dad, this is Superboy, Superboy, this is my dad."

"_Uhh_…hi, Troy. I'm glad you regained some contact with us."

The sound through the crystal came through with a little static, but Troy's voice was audible.

"_I don't know how much longer I can, the Xavarians have stormed our Leader's palace and have it under lockdown. Any moment they might pick up my communication frequencies. Superboy, I'm sorry for this intrusion."_

Evie looked at Superboy surprised. "Wait a minute! He heard you! I thought we were the only ones genetically linked. That's why he could only hear me."

"_That's right, Evie. I can hear and speak to Superboy. He's special, which is why the time freeze didn't affect him. I'm going to eventually fix that little glitch so I could talk to your mother."_

"Troy, don't worry about intruding. I'm glad to help. I have to tell you that Evie was almost badly hurt by those Xavarians, they were hunting for her."

"_What? Oh no! I'm so sorry sweetheart! I didn't realize they learned of your existence. This is has gotten very out of control. Tammox is the leader of the mercenaries and he has it in for me after I had to destroy his father's regime years ago. Superboy, thank you for protecting her. She's my special little girl."_

Superboy grasped Evie's hand. "Of course. I can tell she's _very _special. Troy, what is it that you want me to do exactly?"

"_Superboy, I know it's a lot to ask of a stranger, but I need you to come to Antareus. Our planet is located on the outskirts of the same solar system as yours was, Krypton. We were distant neighbors. I'm very sorry for that loss."_

Superboy glanced at the crystal mystified. "My loss? What do you mean? My planet is out there? That's wonderful!"

Troy was silent and the crystal pulsed with a soft energy. _"Oh Superboy, I didn't realize you haven't discovered your true origins yet. You see, on Antareus we have the ability to see into Earth's future. We have studied your life for quite some time and we understand your noble purpose. I won't take that discovery away from you. But you should know, that Krypton no longer exists…only the meteorites that made up the planet's mass. You know them better as Kryptonite rocks."_

Superboy was growing more perplexed. "If those are from my planet, then why is it so deadly to me? How did Krypton get destroyed? How did I get here?"

"_Just as you gain your powers through the earth's solar energy, the Kryptonite is activated the same, but the properties were altered when they pass through the earth's atmosphere, making it deadly to you. Our planet is not under the red sun of Krypton, we are actually closer to planet Earth's sun, even more so than earth. If you come here, your powers will be greatly increased and that's vital for our cause."_

The static from the crystal became stronger and Evie grabbed it worried.

"Dad! Please don't go yet!"

"_Superboy, I know you must have mounds of questions. I can explain a lot more to you later if you really want me too, but it's very important that you come soon. I can transport you here instantly."_

"I will come and help Troy, but what about Evie? She may still be in danger."

"_I can send Evie home, she did what she had to do."_

"But dad! I want to see you! I want to go to Antareus!"

"_No Evie, it's much too dangerous. Especially now that I know the Xavarians are after you."_

"But Dad! If I go home, mom is there, and all our friends, what if the aliens attack? I can't fight them without Superboy's help. They're too strong…dad? Dad?"

There was a lull on Troy's end of the crystal and his voice finally returned, severely broken up by the static interference.

"_They've found us! Superboy, I need to go into hiding again. Decide now! Evie, I'm giving you more power so you can return home. In the meantime I put up a force field around your house so they can't penetrate it. But you must stay within, you, you're mom, and anyone else that shows up."_

A blue beam of energy burst from the crystal and enveloped Evie. Superboy attempted to help, but then realized she wasn't in any pain. When it was over, Evie trembled from the effects. Superboy grasped her shoulders to keep her steady. She smiled and then looked at him seriously.

"Thanks. I'm okay. My father is right. They really do need you, please, I can get home myself."

Superboy stood up and let out a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going…but…Evie, there's one more thing I need you to do for me."

Superboy bent down and whispered in her ear. A tender expression crossed Evie's face and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I will, Superboy. I promise. Please take care of my dad when you find him."

"That's _my_ promise to you. It was great to meet you, Evie. We'll see each other again."

Evie blushed. "Maybe you can come and visit me and my best friend Lindsay. Sometimes, you're all she talks about. She really wants to see you fly in person. Too bad I can't tell her what happened today!"

Superboy laughed. "I'll do you one better. I'll come to visit and take you both out flying, how about that?"

"Totally radical! Thanks, Superboy!"

Superboy stroked her cheek and kissed the top of her head.

"Take good care, Evie. Troy. I'm ready!"

"_Okay, just stay very still, Superboy. You won't feel a thing. It will only take a minute. Evie darling, I love you. Tell your mother I love her too."_

An electric blue energy field coursed around Superboy and his body began to fade until it was completely gone. The power died out in Evie's crystal. She picked it up and shook it.

"Dad! Dad, where are you? Dad?" There was no response. Her contact was lost.

Evie closed her eyes tightly to stop her crying. She sucked her fears and sadness in and after what seemed minutes, opened her eyes. It was time to unfreeze Capitol City, and then she was going to gleep herself forward a few hours to a building called the _'Bureau of Extra-Normal matters.'_ Evie wanted to make sure she fulfilled what could be Superboy's last request. To find a woman named Lana Lang and tell her that he loves her, he always had and always will.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 3**

Superboy felt his entire being phase into solid matter. After a dazzling display of blue light, he quickly found himself immersed in pitch darkness. He swung around in circles, unsure of where he was.

"This can't be Antareus! I've fallen into a black hole!"

Metal clanged from his left and he heard a man groan and speak up in a familiar voice. "No, Kal-El, it's only a broom closet. This is where I'm hiding right now. I just stepped in a mop bucket."

_"Troy?_ Where are you? Can you shed a little light in here?"

Troy snapped his fingers and a dim, pale ambiance filled the closet, just enough for Superboy to make out that Troy was tall and good-looking, with dark brown hair and catty blue eyes like Evie's. He was physically fit and looked to be in his early forties.

"I'm sorry kiddo, but if I go any brighter they may see the light from under the door."

"You called me Kal-El? What kind of name is that?"

"Yours."

Superboy sighed. Troy was a joker. "No, really. Where does it come from?"

"It's your birth name, Kal-El, your _Kryptonian_ name. I like it, has a nice ring to it. Look, how about I make this much easier on you and just call you Clark?"

Superboy gaped at him. "You know I'm Clark Kent?"

Troy chuckled and shook his head. "Do you really think you can fool Antareans with a pair of glasses and suspenders? Though I would give you an Oscar for that geeky performance you used to put on. _Earthlings!_ You gotta love 'em!"

Superboy cracked a smile and looked around. "Uh, Troy, how long do we have to stay in here? I didn't come all this way to play hide and seek with the Xavarians. When you spoke to us, it sounded extremely urgent."

Troy smiled. "You _do_ have a sense of humor. Now we'll get along just fine. It's very urgent, Clark, but we can't go about it blindly. The last I heard they had immobilized our Generals, so the soldiers are out fighting any which way and it's making more of a mess. I need to make some adjustments. You walk around out there in your current outfit, and you'll be a sitting duck in more ways than one. Antareans are friendly, but you have to get to know them first. Our standard of dress tends to be on the darker side, but our women are _very_ attracted to bright colors. They don't waste any time in the mating department."

"They still sound like humans. They should know I'm not out to hurt them."

"True, but humans can't literally zap you into another life form if provoked." Troy closed his eyes and whipped his head up and down just as Evie did.

"You gleeped me, didn't you?" Superboy felt the tiny surge of power and his super vision caught the blue electro light that flashed. Evie's powers had a very girly pink tone.

"Yeah, just a change of clothes, only temporary so you can blend in."

Troy gleeped a mirror and Superboy looked into it. He was decked in tight black and sparkling spandex pants, thigh high, pirate style silver boots, a black matching jacket with an open V-Neck and sliver padded shoulders bigger than an NFL star. His hair was suddenly five inches longer and teased up stiff. The utter distaste on his face was evident.

"You Antareans may be eons ahead of Earth, but your fashion sense is _awful."_

"Don't blame me, Antareans are totally fixed on the eighties right now. They tend to follow Earth trends, though they're still a couple of years behind. There's nothing I can do to stop it. I prefer doo-wop myself. A bit much?"

Superboy nodded. "I look like a reject from KISS."

"I was thinking more of an obsessive Ziggy Stardust fan…okay…all this pickiness coming from a guy who wears primary colors and tights. How about this?" Troy gleeped Superboy's outfit again. "This is much better. Very hip."

Superboy opened one eye and let out a contented sigh. He was now in a tight fitted silver t-shirt, black leather pants and silver tipped motorcycle boots. The horrible jacket was gone. His regular length hair sprung out wildly like he stuck his fingers in a generator-a socket would have done no damage to the boy of steel.

"Getting warmer, this will do fine."

"Oh, one more thing. These Xavarians still need to know who they're dealing with."

Superboy felt another gleep coming on. He looked down at his chest, and stenciled in iridescent black and blue was a replica of the Superboy 'S.' He grinned.

"Hey, I like that!"

"Yeah, I even kept some of your original color in there. The red is too much of a turn-on. Maybe you'll decide to change your look when you get back home."

"If I ever get out of this closet that is." Superboy droned and put his ear to the door. In the far distance he heard laser beams and all sorts of ammunition firing, people shouting and various commotion that implied a hostile take-over. The Xavarians had a strange, rough language that was like a mix of Kling-on and French. He was surprised that he understood it.

"I know what you're thinking, they hear their own language when outsiders talk and you hear English, it's very simple."

"Troy, it's a war-zone out there. Your people need help. I'm going."

"_Wait!_ Clark, I…"

Superboy opened the door and fell through a force field that knocked him upside down into deep space about twenty feet before he caught his bearings. He flew up to Troy a little annoyed and the man peeked his head out the door, wearing an astronaut helmet.

"That last step is a killer, right? I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you I just gleeped us off the planet…not very far. A Kryptonian with powers like yours can withstand holding their breath up to an hour or more. Last time I checked anyway. I wasn't taking any chances. I put a force field around us. I kind of forgot to mention that if _you_ touch it, you'd be drop kicked into Mars. You wouldn't like that, it's very dusty up there."

Superboy hovered in mid-air and crossed his arms. He rolled his eyes, unable to speak. He stepped into the closet again.

"Thanks for the late warning. I'm sure the Xavarians won't notice a floating _broom closet_ in their air space! Troy, you remind me of Evie, covering over your panic with snappy humor."

"My little apple dumpling doesn't fall far from the tree. Hold on, Clark. We'll be back at the Leader's palace in a jiffy."

Troy gleeped them back into place inside his personal office.

"Is it safe to leave the closet, _yet?"_

"Sure."

Superboy peered curiously at his surroundings. Troy looked to be an archivist of some sort. Aside from many sleek shelves of neatly filed paperwork and books, he had giant screens placed all around the room. These screens crunched intrinsic data non-stop and were zeroed in on various planets. Earth was the main focus. Glowing crystal, triangular, and hexagonal shaped cubes, much like the one he used to communicate with is daughter, activated the screens and every few minutes changed localities.

"I take it you work for the Antarean Department of Defense. You monitor different planets to discover their attributes and weaknesses." Superboy mused.

"Very astute, Clark. That's exactly what I do, among other duties for the Antarean Government. Earth has obviously become my favorite one."

"Little Evie is proof of that." Superboy smiled. "So this is how you learned about me? You know it's funny, I almost thought Evie was from the fifth dimension like an imp called Mxyz…"

Troy tossed opened his hand and a thick piece of tape clamped over Superboy's mouth. Superboy grasped it and yanked it off.

"_Troy!_ What the heck was that for?"

Troy waved his hands over his mouth. _"Shh! _What ever you do, do NOT say that name, or any other name from the fifth dimension. If Mxy…If _M_, hears his name three times, he'll be here so fast your head will spin. All those imps do is cause trouble. Besides, it won't be a pretty sight if a Xavarian finds them. They literally eat imps for breakfast. They've wanted to feast on M for the longest."

Superboy rubbed his mouth. "Alright then. I'm not looking forward to seeing imps around here either." Superboy paced the room. "Troy, I feel very useless right now."

"I know, but we have to proceed with caution. I did a scan of your vitals, and assessed all your powers to see where they will come most in handy."

"That wasn't necessary. I use my powers at will, whatever works. I actually do feel a little stronger here."

"That's because you are, like I said earlier. We're closer to the sun, but our planet has a protective shield around it to keep out the very harmful rays…and prevent it from being a hundred degrees every day."

"Hmm, can't say the same for Florida."

"Aww, don't worry, you'll be out of there soon enough. Besides, Florida is a brimming fountain of Kinetic energy, thanks to the electromagnetic forces in the Bermuda Triangle. Your bodily system is loving it. Now when it comes to your powers, the laser vision and flying are my particular favorites. You have powers intrinsic to Kryptonians, like the cold breath of wind, X-ray and heat laser vision. We're still not up to snuff on the flying. It's more like, hovering or gliding. You may not realize it, but some Kryptonians even had telepathy."

"I never noticed that power, maybe when I'm older."

"Maybe, I've also heard of some who had hypnotic kisses."

Superboy chuckled. "I really want to say that's crazy, but knowing what's out there in the universe, I won't even dare."

"Hey, you never know when that will come in handy with a certain feisty red-head." Troy winked. "Not that you need to hypnotize her, you say jump, she'll say 'how high?' she loves you that much."

"You think so, Troy?"

"I know it. She's a doll, Clark, don't let her get away."

Superboy's cheeks went flush and he kept quiet while Troy brought up images of various Xavarians and videos of them in action. "They can't fly, but they can leap very far, they have a heavy muscle mass, solid as rocks. The Xavarians have a lot of brute force and aren't afraid to use it."

Superboy stood tall. "Neither am I."

"Good, because I have heard and seen reports of how gentle and hopelessly diplomatic you could be."

"It's not hopeless. It's for the good of all. Isn't that exactly what Antareus did with the first peace treaty?"

"Sure, we use many forms of Governmental policies here, some work, some don't. It depends on the situation. Right now, I feel like Teddy Roosevelt and I'm ready to _charge!"_

Superboy edged his way toward the exit of the office. "Then let's stop holing up in here and make that charge!"

Troy followed after him and then grabbed his arm. "One more thing, Clark. I know it seems like I'm constantly joking, that's just me…but this is very serious. I was able to tap into Xavarian coded communications, which is probably how they spotted me."

"What did you find out?"

"Taking over Antareus is just a warm up for them. They have a much bigger goal in mind. That's when I decided to find you, because with our Antarean powers and your abilities, we have a better chance of defeating them here than anywhere else. We're not as vulnerable as…as…"

Superboy felt his tensions rise. "As who? What?"

Troy put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Once they conquer here, Xavariax plans to take-over planet earth, and since humans are inherently powerless, absolutely nothing can stop them."

Superboy looked up and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He pursed his lips defiantly and glared at Troy.

"No, that's not true. Earth has _me,_ it's my home too and I am going to stop them no matter what it takes."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 4**

After leaving the diner, Evie peered at the street, making sure there were no more violent aliens on her tail. It was time to unfreeze the city. Evie clasped her hands together as if she were going to clap, and immediately everyone continued their daily routine in normal motion. She stared through the diner window and giggled. The cook didn't catch the toast like he hoped and it bounced off his head.

Sometimes un-freezing time disorientated people by a few seconds and she hoped it didn't cause too many problems for the rest of the City. Evie decided to put her newly enhanced powers to the test. Using all her focus, she gleeped herself a few hours ahead to the stone steps of the _Bureau of Extra-Normal Matters_. Thankfully, no one saw her appearance. When she looked at the clock, it was half past eleven and the area was bustling.

_"Tubular! _It worked! Dad is so awesome!" She laughed and bounded into the imposing building. The interior was high and spacious. Many people buzzed around with files and some were at their desks giving interviews to visitors and scratching their heads over odd-looking gadgets. Others typed away on their computers.

"This place has a weird name, I wonder what it's all about?" This wasn't the time for a tour or to ask too many questions. She had to find Lana Lang. A brash voice cut through the hustle and bustle.

_"Kent!_ Has anyone seen Clark? Where are my interns when you need them?"

Evie glanced at the head of the stairway and saw a short and bald older man with glasses and a frown pacing back and forth irritated. He must have been the boss. She looked to her left and saw a stylishly dressed young woman with curly bobbed hair run halfway up the stairs. Evie sighed and then smiled.

_'That has to be Lana, Superboy said she had red hair, and she's sure beautiful enough for him.'_ She thought. _'I wish I were her!'_

_"Lang!_ Where is Kent? He was due in hours ago! Did he call yet?"

"No sir, I've tried to call him three times already and there's no answer."

"Was he on a case?"

"Not that I know of, he would have said something, Mr. Jackson." Lana replied.

Throughout the long, busy morning Lana's annoyance over Clark's absence turned to genuine worry for him. Clark may have been scatterbrained, and often disappeared at inopportune times, but if he was ever late for work he would call in or at least tell her. Clark would always show up sooner or later with a harebrained or vague excuse.

"Maybe he's home sick and still sleeping." Lana said unconvincingly. Clark Kent was the picture of health, she couldn't remember the last time he even caught a cold or complained of a headache.

"That's no excuse, Lana. He's never missed a day yet. All he had to do was call me. Besides, I had Matt drop by his apartment earlier and he wasn't home."

Lana stared at him curiously. "Wow, Mr. Jackson, you're really on top of your employees."

"That's right I am. He was supposed to go with Matt to see an elderly woman who swears up and down that she was frozen."

"Frozen? What do you mean? Like with ice?" Lana's intense blue eyes glowed with interest.

"No…she claims time had stopped for the entire City while she was washing her windows. She could see everything, hear things, smell em', but she couldn't move a muscle. I don't know. She's a little batty. You know the type, house dress, rollers, ten cats...tin foil antenna hat."

"There may be _something _to her story." Lana mused.

"Then she must be so _special_ because I for one was rudely awakened this morning by god-awful dump trucks! Noise startled me so much I poured my orange juice right on my plate. Ruined my breakfast."

Evie took a seat by Lana's desk and gulped. Was it possible that someone else was able to withstand the time freeze? Her father told her that once in a while, humans with 'atypical' brain waves were able to detect the use of Antarean powers, but they couldn't explain it. Evie's mother made it perfectly clear when she said it was most likely, _crazy_ people.

Mr. Jackson tossed his hands up and shooed Lana away. "All right, I'll deal with Kent when I see him. There's a pile of folders on his desk he was supposed to sort and enter into the data system. He's your partner, Lana, so it's your job for today. Have it done before the day is over."

Lana's worry for Clark faded into pure exasperation. "Yes…yes, sir!"

She stomped over to his desk and picked up the thick pile. "I'll be dealing with him later too, that's for sure! He owes me a drink…no, make that _dinner _and a drink." She grumbled and returned to her desk. Lana soon noticed a young, blonde girl sitting quietly in the chair; she looked a little out of sorts and clutched her knapsack. Lana smiled at her.

"Half day at school today? Did you find anything extra-normal you want to show us?"

Evie glanced up at her. _"Huh?_ Oh, no…_umm_…are you Lana Lang?"

Lana took a seat. "Yes, I am. Do I know you?"

"No, I don't live here. I mean I'm visiting…my name's Evie Garland."

Lana shook her hand warmly. "Pleasure to meet you. Is there something I can do for you, Evie? Otherwise, I really have to get on with all these files." Lana comically flipped through them. "I hate this part of the job. Paperwork. There's always _tons _of paperwork."

Evie looked around, the place was very open and there was little privacy at the desks. "Is there someplace private we can go to talk? I have an important message for you."

Lana gazed at her inquisitively. "Really? Oh, okay. _Umm,_ why don't we go to the file room? Hardly anyone except Clark uses it these days. No one will bother us."

"Who's Clark? I heard that man upstairs yelling for him."

"He's a good friend of mine, and my partner. He's not here today, and nobody knows where he is."

When Lana stood up and came around the desk, Evie noticed a picture by her computer. Lana was laughing in the middle, with a blondish haired guy wearing a Superboy Tee-shirt and making bunny ears on her left. She picked up the photo and stared carefully at the black haired guy with glasses and a plaid shirt on the right. He was smiling gently and had his arm draped protectively over Lana's shoulders. It was a very loving pose.

Evie made a double take and peered closer. Her mind whirled, and in a morphing, slow motion action the glasses came off, the hair styled differently, and the shirt turned blue with a big red and yellow _S_. She gawked at the image and it quickly reverted to its original. She had discovered Superboy's other identity. Why couldn't anyone else figure it out?

"Is _that_ Clark?"

Lana took it from her hands. "Yeah, that's Clark, and the dorky one is Andy. We took this back in college two years ago. We were like the terrible trio. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Evie stepped backwards and let out a slight laugh. _"Uhh,_ no! I mean, that's a great picture. He's totally cute. They both are…but Clark is really…he's _fine_." She said quickly, and meant it.

Lana stared at the picture and a tender expression passed over her face. "Clark? You know, he really is." She placed the picture down. "Okay, Evie, file room. Follow me."

-Oo-

**Planet Antareus: The Council Headquarters**

Tammox smirked at the viewing screen. The image of the Bureau building faded in a haze of purple mist and the screen went dark. He clicked his talons on the metallic table, scratching it up and being careful not to hurt the bandaged ones. The crystal that powered the screen closed slowly and the light dimmed.

"I've found the key to Superboy's heart! And Troy's little girl…they are together! Superboy's woman is an earthling with orange hair. A rather beautiful one of her species, is she not?" _Acck!_ Why can't these aliens stay with their own kind?"

His cohorts, Midox and Doxim, shrugged and kicked furniture around the damaged room. They were growing bored just sitting in the Council office of the Antarean Palace, especially when they realized the Leader of Antareus had escaped with his bodyguards. Midox glanced at his General and snickered. "She _is_ quite a specimen! Can I have her as a mate?"

"Once the Boy of Steel is defeated, then she is yours!" Tammox laughed, but his good mood was short lived. He had been unable to locate Troy or Superboy in the last hour and his frustration mounted.

"Troy must be using a biological cloaking device on himself and the Boy of Steel! I would have discovered them by now." Tammox shoved himself up, sending the chair sprawling backwards and smashing into the giant electronic map of Antareus. It fizzled, and went black.

"Midox! Doxim! We will weed those two out! I want you to go to earth immediately and bring back the earthling females. Keep them in here and make sure they are restrained. That little girl is a tricky one! I must go out and find the others. I have a feeling Troy is gathering up the scattered Antarean soldiers and planning an assault on us!"

Doxim opened a portal and bowed to his General by forming a steeple shape with his hands and nodding his head. "Yes, General Tammox! We will retrieve them promptly." Midox did the same and they disappeared in a burst of yellow light.

-Oo-

After hearing Evie's message from Superboy, Lana was compelled to faint. The girl couldn't have been making this up, and Lana had been involved in too many extraordinary occurrences to doubt her. However, she still needed solid proof. Lana's heart beat furiously and tears sprang to her eyes at the thought of losing Superboy forever. Now she knew the truth of at least one thing. He did love her as she loved him.

"Lana, I'm sorry I had to say it like this…I'm sorry _I_ had to be the one to tell you too. But, Superboy is a hero. He's willing to save a distant planet he knows nothing about. You gotta still love him for that!"

Lana smiled sadly at Evie. "It's not your fault. I'm very grateful you told me this. I do love that about him. I love him for so many reasons. He's very self-sacrificing. I know he'll be able to help your father and Antareus. But Evie, I need to know the whole truth. Prove to me that you were the one who stopped time this morning."

Evie's shoulders rose in a big sigh, but she nodded. Superboy must have trusted this woman highly for her to relay his message. He also trusted that Lana would not divulge Evie's secret either. Evie still couldn't understand why he told no one about being Clark Kent. But her mother always said that everyone was entitled to his or her own secrets at some point in life.

"Okay. Here goes." She lifted her hands and placed her two index fingertips together gently. Lana stood in place, unmoving, her hand clutching her heart, her eyes still pooling tears. Evie felt sorry for her. She touched her shoulder and Lana flinched. The tears spilled out and she wiped them quickly.

"What happened? I thought you were going to show me?"

"I am, Lana. I unfroze you. Let's take a walk around."

As they left the file room Lana gasped loudly. Everyone in and outside the Bureau was frozen in time, just as Evie said they would be…and just as the so-called batty old lady suspected. Lana walked up and down the aisles slowly, staring people down and touching a few, but nothing happened. She spun around to face Evie.

"That is amazing! How? How did you do it?"

Evie held out her hands. "I put my index fingers together and it just happens."

"Can you make them move again?"

"Sure, watch."

Evie clasped her hands and everyone continued on their way. Lana laughed. "Do it again, I mean, freeze them again."

"But you'll freeze too."

"That's okay, just unfreeze me."

Evie obliged her and then tapped Lana's arm. "Now do you really believe me?"

"Absolutely! And the clock has stopped too! Oh, wow! If only I could somehow go to Antareus and help…"

A brilliant portal beamed down from the ceiling and Midox and Doxim jumped out. Evie screamed and pulled Lana back.

"Oh no! It's them! The bad aliens! Lana, we have to go to California, I can gleep you with me, and we'll be protected inside my house! My father said so!"

_"Gleep?_ Wait…who are they? What do you want from us?" Lana demanded.

Midox stared at Lana greedily. "We are from the Planet Xavariax! We are going to rule Antareus and destroy the super Kryptonian you love, but first, we have come for you!"

"NO!" Evie screamed as they attempted to grab them. Evie focused and raised every stapler on the desks, shooting off the staples at their heads and eyes like rapid fire until they stumbled back. Doxim was losing patience.

"You and your childish tricks! They are no match for us!"

Lana bravely stood in front of Evie. "You leave her alone, you stupid creep! And don't you _dare_ hurt Superboy!" She cried out defiantly. "Evie! Go home! Do your gleep or whatever it is and save yourself!"

Lana decided that if they were going to take one of them, it should be her and not the girl. She had faith in Superboy, that he would somehow be able to find and protect her. Evie clutched Lana's red bell sleeve. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Evie, I've been through this kind of thing before. Superboy will…_Aughh!" _Doxim whipped out his phaser and shot at Lana without warning. She slumped to the floor unconscious.

_"Lana! _No! You killed her!" Evie cried.

"Not yet, little princess!"

Midox raced over to Lana and tossed her over his shoulder. _"Ahh,_ a very lovely specimen indeed! I will put her in my own special cage!"

Before Doxim could fire at Evie, she gleeped his phaser into a water gun and a stream of water spilled out of it.

_"Grrrr!_ Enough games!" He tossed his arms out and Evie felt a crushing magnetic force wrap around her. It pulled and tugged her toward the portal and she was powerless to stop it.

"Get off me! Help! _Help!"_

However, there was no help for Lana and Evie as the aliens carried them off into the portal, leaving Capitol City frozen once more.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 5**

Troy and Superboy walked swiftly from the Leader's Palace, with Troy giving Superboy a hurried grand tour. Whatever crisis Superboy heard earlier had dissipated, it was as if nothing ever occurred, though the city felt somewhat like a ghost town. Troy explained that the Xavarians were crafty; they wanted control over the Palace before they began a full-blown take-over. Thanks to Troy's earlier surveillance warnings, the Antareans expected the first attack and knew to lay low.

The sprawling city housed the majority of the small planet's residents and was simply called 'Antareus'. The architecture was designed with geometrically shaped buildings-triangles, hexagons, ovals, and even one that had Superboy tilting his head in different directions for the full effect-a rhombus. Looming spires dotted the slick streets and glowed all different fluorescent colors. As they blended with the crowd, Superboy took note of their affinity for metallic and leather clothing. There was something odd about the planet that irked Superboy, aside from its inhabitants looking like an eighties punk explosion. It finally dawned on him as they passed what resembled a park, with artificial grass and trees.

"Troy, there's no foliage here? No greenery…and… no water." How do you all survive under these conditions?"

"No water and no dirt…bathtubs were the most amazing thing to me when I came to earth. I couldn't get enough of taking showers."

"That seems almost impossible. Dirt is...is a part of life!"

"Not on Antareus. Look around you, Clark. Everything on this planet is somewhat artificial. Why do you need anything when you have the power to gleep? We simulate nearly all our energy, food and drink with our powers based off of what's trendy on earth. I gotta tell ya, I love those Big Macs."

Superboy sighed. "I suppose the sunlight and air is filtered, too? What a way to live."

"Yeah, I know. Forget about natural tans. Why do you think I fell in love with Earth? I was glad Donna didn't mind all the camping trips."

Troy came to a stop in front of a flashy neon building with thumping dance music emanating from within, enough to vibrate the crescent and star shaped twinkling windows. Superboy peeked inside. Crowds of dazed young men and women danced, drank and ate; their extremely blissful state confused him.

"Troy, the entire city is under siege, yet the Antareans in here are partying hardy. Why? Why don't they run or find safety?"

Troy opened the door, the music was loud enough to be deafening to a human's ears. "Follow me, Clark. Whatever you do, don't make direct eye contact with the women…uh, or men for that matter."

"Why not?"

"Well, the young folk here like to ingest a little something known on the street as 'Trancers.' They are very potent, which is why they're blissfully unaware of the attacks right now. Even though it makes them giddy, it also makes them extremely focused. Trancers give them the ability to hypnotize anyone to do their bidding. It's a black market drug, that unfortunately the kids get their hands on from time to time."

"Sounds like a lot of earth drugs…except the hypnotizing part."

"Earthlings are highly susceptible to anything, but we don't have time to test the theory for Kryptonians." Troy found himself shouting over the ruckus and getting pushed away from him in the crowds. "Clark, we have to get to the back of…!"

"Troy! Why are we…?" Superboy ducked as a woman clad in fuchsia colored leather swung over his head from a hanging chain lamp and landed behind him with a showy display of acrobatics. She yanked Superboy by the shoulder and turned him around.

"_Here?…"_ Superboy found himself staring into the dazzling emerald green eyes of a beautiful woman. She had sultry lips and velvet black hair down to her waist. Superboy gulped as his gaze diverted up and down her figure. His compulsion to grab her was strong and his arms and hands shook.

She smiled slyly. "I've never see you around here before. I would have remembered a form like yours."

"I'm just…just a visitor." For the first time, he felt himself really starting to sweat.

She stroked his biceps and the logo on his shirt. "What's the big S' stand for, huh? I can sure think of a few things." She whispered and locked her hands around his neck.

Superboy felt the hairs on his arms and neck rise up and tingle. The faint glow in her eyes kept him from turning aside.

"It's just…just… a symbol."

"I like symbols. Well, visitor, do you have a name?"

"It's Cla…_Kal-El."_

"Oh, I like that, _very_ Kryptonian. It's strong. You must have all those wonderful powers they had. Too bad, too sad for their planet, especially when I finally see what one looks like. There were probably many more of _you_." She purred and massaged his shoulders. "Kal-El, you need to lighten up, have a little fun."

As she said this she slipped two shiny pink pills into his pocket. Superboy just continued to smile dazed at her and he felt himself relaxing.

"Dance with me now, Kal-El."

The music slowed to a steady pulsing rhythm and Superboy's mind went into a spin as they swayed close together. The woman suddenly kissed him firmly and Superboy responded in kind.

"Take me from here, Kal-El. Take me high in the sky!"

"Anywhere you'd like." He whispered huskily.

Superboy was about to sweep her in his arms, however, he soon felt a hard tug on his arm and Troy dragged him from her grip.

"I told you! No looking in the eyes! Remember Lana!"

A lopsided grin spread across Superboy's face and he nuzzled the woman's neck.

"_Who's that?_"

"Lana! Your_ mate _on earth who loves you dearly." Troy knew if he used that word, 'mate,' the Antarean woman would back away. To refer to someone as such meant a bond for life and Antareans respected that arrangement, though some brazen few found ways to get around it.

An image of a red-haired young woman with a bright smile and luminous blue eyes came to mind and Superboy snapped out of his stupor.

"Lana! Of course! But we're not…I'm mean she's just…"

The woman flicked her hand at Troy and tugged Superboy's arm again. The Kryptonian was confused over the earth woman's status.

"I'm Esmeralda! Who's Lana? Just a friend, right? _Look at me_, Kal-El!"

Troy tugged him back. "That's fascinating, and I'm Troy, he's coming with me."

"No, I believe you interrupted our dance." She seethed, pulling on Superboy again.

Superboy kept his gaze on the multi-hued floor and his trance was fully broken. He put out both hands to stop them from using him as a wishbone.

"Lana's the woman I love. We're going to be _mates."_

Esmeralda let his arm fall to his side. "Too bad! Earthling women have absolutely _nothing_ to offer."

Superboy glanced back up at her annoyed, but Troy stepped in between them to block him from the Trancer's effects again. He put his hands on Superboy's shoulders.

"Clark, we have to go! We have work to do."

"Right! Troy, where are we going? Why are we in here?"

Leaving Esmeralda to sulk, Troy continued to drag Superboy until they came to the very rear of the large nightclub. He flashed a yellow pass at the hefty bodyguard standing in front of a long dark corridor and the bodyguard nodded curtly and let them by. They came to a large silver door. He swiped his hand over the identity mechanism and the door unlocked. Once inside Troy let out a sharp breath and spoke.

_"Finally!_ Sorry about all this clandestine business, but this is where we are hiding the Leader and our other Generals. If you notice all the doors back here, they lead to a series of underground tunnels. All of them can take you back to the Palace. I didn't want to risk taking one directly from the Palace and having the Xavarians pick up on it. Come, he's beyond the red door."

"This city is like a giant puzzle. Wait! Troy, how do I greet him? Is there any kind of code of conduct here? I don't want to appear disrespectful."

Troy wagged his hands and smirked. "We don't have many codes of conduct like that here, we've seen what certain 'gestures of honor' have done to people on earth and the chaos it could cause. A simple handshake should suffice. I should tell you now, he looks amazingly like Earth's old President F.D.R…but don't remind him, he doesn't like to be compared to earthlings, especially ones he considers weak."

Superboy nodded. FDR did have Polio during his terms, but he wasn't a weak leader. Still, not being on planet earth, Superboy decided it would be best to just listen to what everyone else had to say here, and follow along accordingly.

-Oo-

Lana woke up startled, her head pounded and she had to take a minute to clear her blurry vision. Whatever it was that shot her down also weakened her senses. Her hearing was muffled and her body felt lethargic. She quickly remembered what occurred and forced her head up to absorb her new surroundings. As she did this, the cage that entrapped her jerked and spun around wildly. Lana screamed and grasped onto the golden bars, compelling it to swing side to side slowly. The oval shaped golden cage hung about twenty feet off the ground, suspended by a chain no thicker than an inch, but enormously strong.

"I'm in a bird cage?" She murmured aloud.

"If you'd like to call it that, you are like my rare bird of paradise." A gravelly voice answered her from below.

Lana glanced down and saw the purple alien who had raided the bureau standing with his scaly arms folded and smirking up at her.

"I am Midox, and you are now my prisoner, once the Boy of Steel is dead, you will be my mate!"

Lana's mouth was too dry to spit on him. "_Never!_ You'll have to kill me! Where is Evie? What have you done with her?"

"Evie is with Tammox our General right now, locked in the Leader's main office."

"Where am I? Where's Superboy?"

"This is still the Leader's Palace, we are in what you earthlings call a _living room_. Superboy is not here, though if he thinks he and his little band of Antareans are going to stop us, he's gravely mistaken! We will find them and take them out very soon."

Lana grew fearful, but tried not to let it show. _"No! _You're mistaken if you think Superboy is going to back down from monsters like you!"

"Enough!" Midox shot a green beam from his eyes and the cage spun around again until Lana begged him to stop. Midox willed it to slow down and laughed as Lana grasped at her head and rolled onto the floor of the cage, groaning.

"Feeling a little dizzy, my pet? Notice the pillows of silk and velvet. I've tried to make it as comfortable as possible for you my flame haired one! You have a fiery affect unlike other earthling women, but I must do something about those coverings you wear."

Midox raised his talons toward her and struck at the air. Lana immediately sensed a chill and when she looked down, she was clad in a holographic purple body suit, her arms, legs and feet were bare, and glittered with a sweet smelling powder. She was adorned with emerald spangles and anklets and violet amethyst chains. She gasped and curled up to a corner of the cage. Midox kept laughing.

"That's so much better! You look more like our Xavarian women, but much smoother in skin and softer in hair. No talons, no razor edged teeth...but that can be altered! I can't wait to have you, my pet!"

Lana was afraid of Midox using more of his powers so she stayed in her curled up position and put her head in her arms. She could only hope that Superboy was safe wherever he was and would come for her and Evie soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 6**

Evie struggled under the chains that held her bound to the Antarean Leader's huge chair, but it was no use trying to escape. Even her gleeping powers were rendered useless. Tammox had put some sort of energy block on her abilities. The Leader's Palace was situated on the highest point of the planet; it was as if it would fall off the edge. She stared in fearful wonder out of a huge atmospheric window that overlooked the rest of the galaxy. Tammox grasped her shoulders tightly, threatening to cut her with his talons should she resist.

"Keep looking, little one. Do you see those bright red lights zooming in the distance? That is the Xavarian army coming in on my orders. Now the fun will really start!"

"Why are you doing this? What did the Antareans ever do to you?"

"It is not just to _me! _They have stolen a vital energy source from our planet! There desperation for it is why we were at war the first time."

Evie turned her head up and stared him down. "I've heard you were all brutal, war mongering aliens! You don't care which planet you take over!"

Tammox knelt down to her level and his hot breath whisked over her cheek. "You do not understand, earthling girl! The Antareans think they are superior to us because they look like earthlings, because they have certain abilities. The energy source from our planet will allow their planet to thrive just as earth does, with greenery, fresh air. There will be no need for a force field to protect them from the sun. Xavariax is the only planet in this vicinity that has this particular life-sustaining energy cube. That is what the Antarean leader wanted, and he got it! Our planet is dying as I speak!"

Evie looked away from him tearfully, her emotions were torn. "Who cares! You're all mean and cruel! You have no right to kidnap me and Lana or hurt my father!"

"Oh! I suppose Troy didn't tell you that in the last siege he killed _my_ father. That, my little girl, is a very personal matter!"

"You can't hurt him! Superboy is here! He'll put an end to all this!"

Tammox tossed back his head and laughed loudly and viciously. "Not before I put an end to him! The last of the Kryptonians! I'm leaving you now to meet my foot soldiers! Don't bother to try any of your little tricks; they won't work for you."

Tammox picked up a communicator and spoke into it.

"Esmeralda, did you find the whereabouts of the Boy of steel?"

The female voice on the other end came out loud and clear. "Of course, Tammox. Both he and Troy are inside Club Eternity, I believe they are housing the Leader in the bunkers down below."

"Very good, pet! I'll see you soon." Tammox stared hard at Evie. "Midox and Doxim will remain to keep you and your crimson haired friend company!"

Tammox stood up abruptly and marched out from the room. Evie shouted in frustration and continued to thrash about, but finally gave up, exhausted and weepy. She all of a sudden remembered that her father had given her a higher level of powers. Telepathy could have been one of them. She had to try and focus all her thoughts on her father and hope they can make contact.

-Oo-

Inside the hidden room, Superboy stood at grave attention before the assembly of Generals and the Leader of Antareus. The Leader's name was Xander. While Troy made the necessary introductions, Superboy wished he could have been wearing his original outfit in order to represent himself and the planet earth. Right now he looked no better than one of the Trancer punks from the nightclub above them. He could still hear the music vibrating through the walls and floors and he wanted to kick himself for nearly falling under the Trancer drug's power. As he shook the leader's hand, he had to hold back a smile; the Antarean did look like Franklin Roosevelt.

"We are so very grateful for your presence on our planet, Superboy. You are doing us an immense service by coming here. The Xavarians are ruthlessly trying to steal a vital life source to our planet, known as the _Solaris._ It is an energy cube that will allow us to thrive as Earth without the need for artificial force fields."

"But Xander, why isn't your planet benefiting from it now if it's a life source? Everything still looks synthetic." Superboy prodded. He didn't know why, but a slight mistrust of the Leader built up within him.

Xander rose up and stared him directly in the eye. "It is a new creation, Kal-El. It had been ten years in the making and now that it's complete, Xavariax wants it. The Solaris is already assimilating into our planet's equilibrium. It's a process that has just recently begun. To remove it now could be deadly to everyone on Antareus! But, that is not a concern. I have a special job for you to do, Kal-El"

"What is that?"

Xander paced the cramped room and every gaze was upon him as he spoke gravely.

"Housed underneath the palace is a powerful nuclear war-head. With our communications down, and the Palace under siege, we are unable to use it. We need you to fly the warhead over Xavariax, enable it, and let it explode…"

Superboy first stared at Troy aghast, and noticed that the man looked just as shocked as he did. Superboy backed away from the round table and shook his head vehemently.

_"Absolutely not!_ If you learned anything about me from all your observations, it is that I will not deliberately kill or get involved in wars that can…"

Xander slammed the table frustrated. "Kal-El, last son of Krypton, _you _are our only hope! Xavariax has plans to take over the earth! Are you willing to take that chance and let them survive?"

"As long as the Xavarians pose a threat, then I am willing to fight them here. But I will not take sides and put one planet over the other in that manner."

Xander laughed loudly. "_Won't take sides? _Don't be a hypocrite, Kal-El. We know your motto, 'Truth, Justice,and the_ American way?' __HA!_ Perhaps you have not studied American history as well as you thought, they've committed atrocities just as bad as any other country on your planet or any other planet in the entire universe! You mustn't kid yourself to their faulty idealism!"

Superboy glanced away, slightly ashamed, but he had to keep his resolve. He leaned over the table, his stoic face unwavering.

"I respect the laws and rules of the country in which I live. I don't take accountability for their mistakes, nor do I in any way condone the vile actions that were taken by _certain _Americans and leaders. I have _my_ _own_ principles! I protect _all _life. I cannot wantonly destroy an entire planet!"

Troy stepped in between Xander and Superboy before the argument grew more heated. It was always the way with politics.

"Xander, Superboy is right. If I had any clue that you wanted to all-out obliterate Xavariax I would have refused to bring him here and quit working for this ruthless Government. You have tricked me too."

Xander's temper rose and he nodded to his Generals to stand up. They circled Xander protectively but made no sudden moves, knowing Superboy's strength.

"I cannot believe this insolence! And from you, Troy, of all people! My right-hand Antarean! I should have known! You buy into those same foolish ethics as Superboy! You betrayed your planet, married an earth woman, spawned an abomination…"

Troy attempted to grab for Xander but Superboy held him back.

"Easy, Troy. He's just trying to goad you."

"How dare you say that? Evie is a beautiful girl, whose better half is from the most special planet ever designed in this universe!" Troy looked pitiably at Superboy. "Clark, I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess. I will send you home!"

Superboy was torn, but he calmly refused. "Troy, there's still a hostile take-over going on here, innocent Antareans could die, I want to help them."

"The only way you can help, _Superboy_, is to do as I command and set off that warhead! More lives will be lost if we drag out this battle on our planet!" Xander seethed.

Superboy's anger rose and he pointed accusingly at Xander. "You people claim to have so many powers, and I've seen them in action! Yet you can't set off a warhead yourselves? That's very suspicious. Xander, you are relegating accountability of Xavariax' destruction to me! You want the whole universe to know that Antareus is mighty! You have _Kal-El, the Last son of Krypton,_ or whatever I'm known as, on _your_ side! This is all a power trip and I will not take part in it!"

A peal of alarms ripped through the entire building and even Superboy had to cover his ears. The real battle had finally begun. He heard the sound of a laser fire in the distance, and then the entire building shook to its foundations, sending sprays of cement and brick dust over everyone in the room. Superboy pushed Xander and his Generals to a door.

"I was told these passages all lead back to the Palace! Go with your Generals now! The Xavarians must have found out you were here! I can hold them off."

"I cannot hide from protecting my planet!"

"But you can't die, either! The people will need you when it's over! You wanted me here to help, and that's what I'm doing. Now move it!"

Xander and his Generals reluctantly shoved through the passage. Superboy turned to Troy. "You too, Troy! Go with them!"

Troy was about to refuse when a sharp pain pierced through his mind. He doubled over and grasped his temples. Superboy took hold of him.

"Troy, what is it? Are you all right?"

The pain cleared up instantly, it was the sign that a new telepathic connection had been made. Troy blocked out the commotion around him and focused in on the voice.

"_Daddy! Tammox is coming for you. We need you and Superboy! Me and Lana Lang, Superboy's girlfriend! ! We're trapped in the palace from those three aliens. Midox wants her for a mate and has her in a cage on the ceiling. Help us, daddy! Tell Superboy!"_

Troy looked at Superboy wide-eyed. "That was Evie!"

_"What?_ What do you mean?"

"When we lost contact on the cube, I gave her telepathy to find me. I didn't get a chance to tell her. She's a smart girl and figured it out."

The frightened look on Troy's face told Superboy something was very wrong. He grasped his shoulders and stood him up him tall.

"What's happened? Where is she, Troy?"

"Evie and your Lana have been taken hostage in the Leader's Palace! They need our help."

Superboy gaped at him and briefly closed his eyes. "_Lana!_ Oh no…Troy, this is all my fault. I asked Evie to pass on a message to her. The aliens must have kidnapped them from the Bureau! I'm so sorry."

"It's all right, Superboy, we'll get them! I'm definitely not leaving you to fight alone. I'm not afraid to use my powers against these colorful freaks!"


	7. Chapter 7

**The Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 7**

When Superboy and Troy returned to the club, they weren't surprised it had been deserted and that its flashy interior was gutted out by lasers. They raced outdoors only to see panic in the streets and four ominous alien crafts hovering over the besieged city like insects.

"Troy, stay as close to me as possible, I can shield you!" Superboy shouted above the commotion.

"I have my own methods, Clark!" Troy drew his hands above his head and Superboy's concentrated vision noticed a blue field envelop his body, perceptible only for an instant, then rendered invisible.

"Being a member of the Leader's Council, I'm given certain defensive powers!" Troy hurriedly explained.

"Gotchya! You're probably more protected than I am!"

"I can give you one too!"

"I'm pretty invulnerable. I'll take my chances right now."

Superboy noticed a group of young Antareans running for their lives while the spacecrafts played cat and mouse with the frightened crowds. The one in the center let forth a green beam of light and abruptly yanked a teenage girl into the air. She let out a scream as her friends jumped up and down, trying to save her. Superboy flew into action; he soared headfirst into the beam, blocking its forces and breaking the hold. The girl unsuccessfully grappled for Superboy's arm, and then dropped out of the sky. Superboy swooped down and caught her. She was shaken, but thanked him profusely. She smiled and started yelling to the masses of people.

"He wears the Kryptonian crest! He has come to save us! They have always been our allies and guardians!"

Superboy didn't have time to make a speech about his purpose as the crowd cheered him on. However, it was interesting to know that the planet he hailed from acted as a protector of the smaller planets in its galaxy. Perhaps it was a Kryptonian's legacy to defend the weak no matter where they resided in the universe. He smiled at the crowd and then bravely faced the spacecrafts that gathered above him. The whirring noises stopped and they fell eerily silent.

"Everybody, this doesn't look good! Run for cover! Find shelter!" Superboy warned the crowds. Most of them heeded him and took off.

Suddenly, each spacecraft switched intense high beams directly onto Superboy. It happened so fast he was nearly blinded. Superboy let out a shout and tossed himself face down on the ground to shake off the black, green and pink spots dancing before his eyes. Now would have been a good time for water. As if reading his mind, Troy raced to his side and gleeped some in a bucket. Superboy quickly splashed it all over his face, rubbing his eyes profusely until his vision cleared.

"Does it feel better?"

"Much!" Superboy rose up and waved his fists at the spacecrafts. "I know you're all up there hiding! Come out and fight a real fight you Xavarian cowards! If think you'll harm the Antareans, _think again!_ You'll have to go through me first!"

Troy, now wearing black shades, pounded his chest bravely. "And me too! You will not overrun my planet!"

Superboy stared at Troy. He had a gut feeling that somehow, Troy would be a much better leader than Xander, and that with Troy's headship, the conflicts between planets would be lessened. He saw no good reason why Xavariax and Antareus couldn't be allies.

Superboy built up an intense concentration of red lasers in his eyes, never feeling it more potent. Despite the harsh light flooding his view, he forced his gaze onto the ships and shattered every high beam. He swung his head from side to side, splicing his lasers through each spacecraft like a knife through soft butter. The hidden doors to the spacecrafts opened and frantic Xavarian soldiers immediately grappled down. Superboy yanked Troy by the shoulder and out of harm's way. Superboy went for another power-his chilling breath.

"You go, Superboy! Freeze em' into ice cubes!" Troy yelled.

Troy gleeped an Antarean stunner gun into his hands and began firing at the Xavarians as they ferociously lunged at them. The sonic blasts sent them flying backwards over fifty feet. The spacecrafts choked and sputtered as their engines failed and froze over. All the ship exteriors crystallized and cracked while Superboy blew upon them relentlessly.

"Watch out everyone!" Superboy cried out to the Antareans who lingered. They all cleared the area. The ships fell from the skies one by one, smashing into thousands of pieces when they hit the surface of the ground. As they landed, Superboy turned his heat vision on them and melted the shards of ice to vapors.

Superboy heard Troy call out for help, a red Xavarian had crushed his stun gun and four others surrounded him. They tossed him around violently and Troy appeared too exhausted to fight back. Superboy flew overhead and landed within the circle. He grabbed Troy and then flew him up high enough so that the Xavarians couldn't leap. He left him on top of the nightclub building.

"What are you doing, Superboy? You need me!"

"No, Troy! I can't have you getting hurt. _Evie_ needs you. She kept a promise to me and I'm going to keep the one I made to her."

"What's that? That you survive long enough to take her and her best friend Lindsay flying around California?" Troy winked with a tired grin.

Superboy patted his shoulders. "That's right! And the other _tiny_ one I made that I would keep you safe. Stay low up here." Superboy jumped onto the ledge dramatically. "You were right, Troy, my powers are much stronger on this planet. _I love it!"_

Superboy laughed and did a back flip in the air, then zoomed back to the growing crowd of Xavarians. They shot out their electro-magnetic forces against him. Superboy made a game of dodging their flashes. He kept in the air, so that they would not aim at more Antarean property. He flew in every direction at blurring speeds, trying to confuse them. The Xavarians suddenly backed down, as if they all received a telepathic message to retreat. Superboy looked up and saw Troy waving. He flew up to him.

"What's going on? Where are they going?"

"They must be headed back to the Xander's palace to regroup and plan a new strategy. Tammox didn't count on your powers being increased. The Xavarians know little of Kryptonians or their abilities. I have to get there. I have to save my little girl…I want to see her. I need to." Troy looked away sadly.

Superboy put a hand on his shoulder. "You will Troy. I know she's desperate to see you again too…and as for Lana, that woman gets in more trouble…"

Troy grinned mischievously. "I'm sure it's worth all the trouble just to see her and be her big hero."

Superboy gazed out across the planet thoughtfully and then laughed. "Every minute of it, Troy."

-Oo-

**Xander's Palace**

Lana's patience wore thin, and twirling around inside the mock birdcage was making her queasy. It was deathly silent in this area of the Palace; the sound of her own breathing unnerved her with its intensity. From across the room she heard a latch click and a piece of the floor opened up. Lana remained still, as a group of human looking men in black and silver uniforms climbed out guardedly.

"Hello! Can somebody help me! I'm trapped. The aliens are in this building." Lana called out.

A tall older man, who looked like a familiar U.S. president peered up at her.

"Actually my dear, _you _are the alien here. Who are you? How did you get here?"

"My name is Lana Lang. I was kidnapped from planet earth by these green creatures with a young girl named Evie Garland."

"Garland…that's Troy's name…she must be his daughter."

"_Yes!_ That's her father, he brought a dear friend of mine here to help your planet."

"You mean, Kal-El?"

"Who?"

"Kal-El, the powerful young man from Krypton."

Lana could only guess it was Superboy. "On earth we call him Superboy, he wears a red and blue uniform with a…"

"An 'S' upon his chest...we very well know. That's a Kryptonian emblem. The Kryptonians were once our allies before their planet was destroyed. Anyway, where are these creatures you speak of?"

As Xander talked to Lana he snapped his finger and his guardians were holding large stun guns.

Lana was more exasperated. "They're probably on the other side of the building, they're called Xavarians or something…look, if you have all these powers like Evie, do you think you can get me down from here? Who are you?"

"My lady, I am known as Xander, and this is my Palace. I am the leader of Antareus. I think it would be safer for you to stay up there."

Lana felt all the eyes of Xander's guards ogling her in her new 'Xavarian' outfit and she wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Well then tell your men to stop staring at me!"

Xander cleared his throat loudly and all his guards stood at attention and they turned in unison.

"Better?"

"Thank you!"

The doors to the room burst open and Xander and his men jumped to attention. It was Tammox, Midox and Doxim. Tammox dragged Evie by her arms. She continually squirmed and kicked at his legs.

"Let go of me! _Let go!_"

Tammox raised his talon hand. "Enough out of you!" He stared up at Lana and smirked, then zapped Evie into a gilded cage beside hers.

"You stay up there too, little one! We don't need you getting in the way any more!"

Tammox and his cohorts turned to face Xander and his army. Xander's guards went on the defense and powered up their weapons. Soon more Xavarians marched into the room. They crossed their arms before Tammox and then hurriedly explained the situation that occurred in the city. Lana listened intently. It appeared that Superboy was winning this battle and he would hopefully be on his way. Lana glanced at Evie sadly.

"I'm sorry this all happened, Evie."

"No. It's my fault you're here. But I wanted to make sure you got that message from Superboy. I should have gleeped us out of the Bureau faster. I'm not used to my powers yet."

"Well, I don't have powers, but…I think it's probably like learning to walk or riding a bike. You'll get the hang of it the more you practice and use them." Lana rubbed her arms and legs. She was chilly.

"Evie, do you think you could put me back in my original clothes?"

Evie attempted to do it and then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tammox blocked most of my powers…but…" Evie scooted closer to her. "I still have telepathy and I was able to tell my dad that we're trapped. He and Superboy must be…"

A loud laser blast made both Evie and Lana duck for cover. One of Xander's men had become trigger-happy.

"The time for talking is over, Xander! We have to kill all these lousy, ugly Xavarians once and for all!"

"Marcus! Put that weapon down!" Xander shouted, but all his orders were futile. The other Antareans joined with Marcus and opened fire. Soon, lasers were flying all over the room. The Xavarians used their showy displays of alien powers to defend themselves and Xander's guards went flying across the room from the forces. Lana and Evie stayed crouched down in their cages. Midox, realizing he might lose his future mate in the ruckus leaped up onto Lana's cage and she screamed.

"I must get you out of here, my pet!" Midox used his talon and spliced through the tensile wire that held up the cage.

"NO! Let her go!" Evie cried, trying to reach out.

Midox leaped into a corner of the room and tore open the cage door. Lana stumbled out dizzily and he caught her.

"They will not harm you! You will be mine now!" Midox bellowed.

Lana thrashed in his arms to no avail. His scaly skin was literally chafing her. Midox dragged Lana toward an interior room as the battles raged on.

-Oo-

There was a low rumbling that did not come from either of the two warring forces. They all lowered their weapons and stopped using their powers to pinpoint the source of the noise.

"Look out!" Xander yelled, pointing to the ceiling.

Everyone scattered to different corners of the room as the ceiling cracked and large pieces of marble fell through to the ground. Superboy flew through the opening with Troy hanging off his arm.

"Look Superboy, the party started without us! How rude!" Troy joked.

"Troy! You imbecile! You've destroyed the palace!" Xander yelled.

Troy gazed around at the laser damaged and crumbling walls and the smoked, burnt out curtains and furniture. He shook his head.

"Actually I think we just put the finishing touches on the place."

Superboy stood in the center of the room and kept everyone in their place. His eyes turned a bright red and he zapped Marcus' weapon from his grip.

"Nobody moves a muscle or else I will take you all down! I was called here for a purpose and this fighting is going to stop!" He said with all the sternness he could muster. Even the Xavarians obeyed him.

"Daddy! It's me! Help!" Evie cried out in shock. She barely remembered her father in person.

Troy gazed in her direction and ran under the cage. "Evie! Evie, I'm here!" Troy closed his eyes and gleeped his daughter out of the cage and into his arms. They hugged tightly and Superboy smiled.

"Daddy, you're safe!"

"Of course I am. I have the boy of steel on my side. You did wonderfully, Evie. You're a true heroine." He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, dad. I missed you." She said, bursting into tears. Troy continued to hold her close and his tears fell with hers.

"I know, baby girl. I know…I'm sorry I can't be with you and mom. I love you both so much and I'm always here for you when you need me."

Superboy stood back and felt a pang in his heart. He suddenly missed his own parents, and made a mental note to visit them when all this was over. He quickly realized that Lana wasn't in the room.

"Xander! Where's Lana?" He demanded.

A female shriek that echoed throughout the palace prompted Superboy into action and he flew through the walls. Midox held Lana a few feet off the ground with both hands, making depraved threats to her. Midox dropped her when Superboy bashed his way through. Lana landed hard on the floor and grasped at her bruised arms. The brutish, vile alien ignored Superboy and hovered over her, ready to make his conquest. She could still feel the rippled coldness of his reptilian tongue when it flicked over her face a few moments earlier. She reached out her arms.

"Superboy! Help me!"

Midox blocked Superboy from reaching her and snarled at him. Using his powers he created an iron ball and chain with spikes and swung it over his head.

"She is mine! I will make her mine!"

"No, she's not! She belongs with me! Don't touch her!"

"You want her, boy of steel, then you fight for her. You fight me to the death!"

Superboy stood his ground, a burst of anger coursed through him. "I will fight, and I will win!"

Superboy let a stream of heat vision out of his eyes and aimed it at Midox's weapon. The metal turned extremely hot and melted in the alien's hands. Midox dropped it immediately and the remnants dribbled into a puddle on the floor. Lana crawled as far away as she could from the scene and watched frightfully from behind a long, wide divan. It was draped with silver silk and black sheets and large embroidered pillows and she shuddered to think of what plans Midox had for her.

Midox flexed and roared. He thrust himself forward and ran into Superboy's mid-section, sending him sprawling against a table, collapsing it. Superboy grasped Midox's arms and they struggled and rolled around the floor until Superboy raised his legs and kicked him off. Midox shot straight into the air and then slammed face-down on the floor. Superboy jumped up, and as Midox struggled to rise he sent a long chill of frozen air upon him until the alien was encased in ice.

Superboy ran to Lana and brought her to feet. "Are you okay, La…_na…?_" They both stared at each other in disbelief over their attire, then chuckled. Superboy clutched her.

"I'm sorry, Lana. You were never supposed to be involved in all this."

"No. I'm glad. What if something terrible happened and you never came back? I'd rather be here and die with you, than live on without you."

Superboy swallowed hard and gripped her shoulders tenderly. "No, Lana. I would never let that happen. You can't worry about me like that all the time. I know it hurts you. Lana, you have a long life ahead of you regardless of what happens to me."

Lana pulled away from him and she controlled herself from sobbing. "Evie gave me your message. Superboy, I love you too."

Lana closed her eyes as Superboy swept her against him for a long, sweet kiss. He hesitantly drew his mouth from hers and caressed her face.

"I have to get back in there before a war starts. Stay close to me, I'll keep you safe." Superboy took her hand and led her out of the room. He cast a glance at Midox, almost feeling sorry for the frozen alien.

"What is it, Superboy?"

"I didn't mean to kill him…but he left me no choice."

"Wait…I don't think he's dead! You could still save him."

Superboy went closer and studied Midox's form and noticed his talons moving slightly up and down. He used his heat vision to semi-melt the ice. Midox's limbs quivered as the icy chunks fell off him.

"He'll be okay, he'll just be nursing a bad cold for a while." Superboy stepped alongside him and knelt down.

"You better be thankful that Lana told me to save you, Midox. If I were you, I'd stay far away from her, or else next time I won't go so easy on you."

Midox's eyes rolled around and he let out a sharp cough. It was an affirmative response. Superboy rose and left the room with Lana. When they came back inside, he was shocked to find the palace restored and a large, black round table in the center with the Xavarians one side and the Antareans on the other. They one and all sat with plates of food and drink and appeared somewhat contented as they minded their meals. Tammox and Doxim sat directly across from Xander and Troy. Evie was in the back of the room waiting patiently on a couch. When she saw Superboy she ran up to him.

"Lana! You're safe!" Evie hugged her.

"Yeah, thanks to Superboy."

"Evie, what's going on here?" Superboy asked.

Evie shrugged. "My father convinced them to start behaving like adults before more people got hurt and he came up with an idea to have a round table discussion. He even gleeped up a meal for them. Totally weird!"

"_Hmm,_ and Troy called me hopelessly diplomatic." Superboy mused. "Well, it's a start." Superboy put his hands on his hips and felt a small packet in the left pocket of the leather pants. His eyes widened and an idea came to mind. He waved Troy down and Troy came over to him.

"Superboy! I'm so glad you're back…and you must be the lovely Lana Lang." Troy held out his hand and Lana shook it with a nervous smile.

"This all must be terrible for you." Troy said.

Lana gazed up at Superboy. "It's not pleasant, but Superboy and I have been through a lot. As long as he's here, I know he'll protect me." She admitted.

"I don't blame you. He's a true Kryptonian guardian through and through. It's in their nature."

Lana's expression saddened as she recalled Xander's words about the planet Krypton exploding. It was possible that Superboy was the only one of his kind left. However, it left many unanswered questions, such as how he got to planet earth, how long had he been there, and who raised him. Lana was going to make it her goal to investigate the matter once they returned home. She was pleased to know that Superboy actually had a name. _Kal-El. _It was a nice name, uniquely strong, yet profoundly gentle, just like Superboy himself.

"Troy, I have an idea that just might work out for the best for everybody."

"I'm open for suggestions, Superboy, because I have no clue what to say to any of these idiots. They're gonna want to start the treaty talks soon." Troy admitted.

Superboy took Troy aside from the girls and Evie and Lana sat on the couch. Evie gleeped Lana back in her red silk shirt and jeans and Lana was relieved, though her skin still smelled of the alien perfume. She actually liked its citrus-like scent.

Troy and Superboy parted briskly and Troy went to the table and took a long swig of his drink. He sat down across from Xander and grinned, staring deeply into his eyes.

"Xander, Tammox, Doxim, I have a brand new proposal, one that you surely won't resist." Troy's gaze rested on Tammox and the big creature immediately became very docile, even smiling. He did the same to Doxim, and the creature responded in kind.

Xander looked up from his meal and felt lightheaded as he stared at Troy. He assumed it was from all the earlier exertion. He was getting on in years and sometimes the atmosphere of the planet gave him dizzy spells.

"What is your, thoughts, Troy? I do respect your opinions. You are still my right-hand Antarean."

"Thank you, I'm glad to know I'm not an imbecile anymore."

Troy got up and paced the length of the table, keeping his sights on the three of them. "It's fairly simple, Xander. You are no longer fit to lead this planet, especially after your suggestion to use violent force, not to mention ruin Superboy's good reputation as a peacemaker for your selfish gain."

Xander, who would normally respond in a fit of anger at this treason, put a limp hand on his cheek and smiled. "Go on, Troy Garland, I'm listening."

Tammox, being uncharacteristically polite, raised his wounded, talon. "May I intervene?"

"Of course, Tammox. This is an open discussion." Troy said.

"I realize we are much more of a brutish and wild species than you Anatareans or Earthlings. But we still exist as a race and right now my planet is dying since the Solaris was stolen. You can understand why I am angry about this."

"Oh, absolutely, Tammox. I would be very miffed myself. I am sorry that you went through all this trouble. Xander had you running around in circles and literally forced your hand. This situation will be rectified once and for all."

How will you do that?" One of the other Xavarians asked bluntly. "You're just a pencil pusher for the Antarean government!"

"_Au contraire_ my good Xavarian. As of right now I am much more than that! Superboy, come here please!"

Superboy approached the table and stood with his hands folded in front of him. Troy looked him over and smiled. He closed his eyes and gleeped Superboy back into his original red and blue attire. Superboy glanced down gratefully.

"Oh, thanks, Troy. I feel more at ease."

"I see that."

Superboy, his eyes a brightened shade of blue, stared intently at everyone at the table until their faces lowered in shame. Troy came up behind Xander and put his hands on his shoulders. Xander stared up at him dully.

"Xavarians and Antareans, you are now being addressed by the new leader of Antareus, _me!_ Superboy, my new honorary head of defense, and I, have come up with a plan that will end this strife once and for all."

**To be concluded…**


	8. Chapter 8

**The Adventures of Superboy: The Liberation of Antareus**

**Chapter 8**

Superboy quietly faced the giant window that overlooked the galaxy surrounding Antareus. He wondered about the momentous task ahead of him. However, he realized he couldn't complain, since this was his own idea. Troy was stunned at the prospect, but he had complete confidence in Superboy's abilities to carry it out. Superboy took a deep breath and traced the stars with his fingers over the smooth glass. He was still feeling lightheaded from the Trancer drug, but it was gradually wearing off.

He felt a gentle hand touch his back and turned to see Lana. He tried not to make too much eye contact with her earlier; he did not want her to fall under the drug's effects. Troy joked with him that Lana didn't need any Trancers to fall down at Superboy's feet. Superboy knew that Lana was much stronger than that, she loved and respected him and his decisions, but she didn't do it blindly.

"Are you still worried, Superboy?"

He smiled wryly. "Do I look it?"

"A little. I see it in your eyes." Lana carefully moved closer to him and Superboy put his arm around her lower back. "That kind of makes me nervous." She smiled vaguely.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to be scared, Lana. Troy will makes sure you and Evie are safely back on earth before I do this."

Lana shook her head. "I'm not worried for me. I'm thinking about you. What's wrong, Superboy?"

Superboy lightly played with her curls. Lana was one of the most selfless women he had ever known. He truly admired that about her, but he never wanted her to needlessly fret over him. "Lana what if…what if something goes wrong? What if I miscalculate the degrees or the angle? I could wind up destroying a whole planet. I've never done this before."

Lana stared at him boldly. "Superboy, you shouldn't doubt yourself. I mean, I know it's not every day that a planet is shifted out of orbit, but Troy is getting the accurate calculations for you, he said it would only be a few feet. They have a device to help you. These Antareans need to be able to thrive under a natural sun. I can't imagine living my life under a dome with everything so artificial, even if they can use those awesome gleeping powers."

"I appreciate the confidence, but that's only one problem solved." He knitted his brows and gazed out the window again, his lips pressed firmly as he contemplated further issues.

Lana stroked his arm. "What do you mean?"

"It's the Xavarians. One false move and they could lash out again; they're still a barbaric race that loves conflict. Troy and I had to pull a mind trick just to reason with them."

Superboy cocked his head toward the round table, where a group of the beastly Xavarian soldiers sat with their large feet up and laughed boisterously. Tammox had left them in the room to make sure that Superboy and the young women did not try to escape. Lana got the message and shivered, thinking of Midox and his attempted assault on her. Superboy saw her uneasiness and pulled her nearer.

"I promise you, Lana, as long as I'm here they won't even try to harm a hair on your head. Or else they'll get it far worse than Midox did." He kissed her temple and Lana relaxed, sighing as his soft lips brushed across her face.

Tammox had demanded to work with Troy and Xander on the calculations. After some mild discussions, and being highly influenced by the Trancer drugs both Troy and Superboy ingested, Tammox agreed to gather his spacecrafts and bring the inhabitants of Antareus to his planet temporarily while Superboy moved Antareus to a different orbit. With their enhanced technology, multitudes of spacecrafts and hyper speed, the move would only take a few hours. All the preparations were taking place now. However, Tammox refused to let Evie or Lana return home until it was time for the shift. They were still his collateral so that Troy and Xander would relent and give back the Solaris. He also kept his army on the ready to attack the Antareans should they refuse.

Superboy insisted that the Solaris cube would not be returned until all the Antareans were safely off the planet; otherwise removing it while it was in a processing phase could be deadly to them. It was a grueling hour of heady bargaining over life and death and it tested Superboy's patience. Troy made sure to get a contract down in writing and signed by Xander. It stated in no uncertain terms that full control of all Antarean activities were to be turned over to him.

Troy explained to Superboy that even though Xander, Tammox and the rest were under the influence of the Trancers, they were aware of their actions as they did them. It was their mental defenses that were skewered. The Trancer user turned the victim, or the trancee, into a helpless follower for a certain length of time and they willingly carried out the bidding of the user. They were very dangerous drugs in the wrong hands and Troy promised Superboy he would have them removed from the planet as soon as he officially became leader.

Lana looked over to the long couch in the corner of the room. Evie sat curled in a ball and very still, her gaze plastered on the Xavarians. She was very frightened of them. Lana looked at Superboy.

"I'm going to stay with Evie. She's so young and so scared. I feel sorry for her."

Superboy nodded warily. "Me too, but I'm very proud of her. She's one brave girl, like you, Lana." He smiled. "I'll join you. I don't like the way the Xavarians are watching you two."

Superboy made himself comfortable between Lana and Evie so they would feel more secure. The Xavarians immediately stopped staring in their direction. Evie soon found herself unable to control her sobs. Lana jumped up and gently held her close.

"Evie, it's going to be okay. Superboy is here and he knows exactly what he's doing."

"I know. I just wish I could go home. I miss my mom, my friends. I want my dad to come home too. Now he's going to stay here forever."

Superboy looked on sympathetically. He stroked Evie's hair. "Your father has a great responsibility to his planet, Evie, but that doesn't mean he won't be there for you when you need him. You're his biggest pride and joy. Hey, you know, once we get this planet in a different orbit, you and your mom could probably come and visit."

Evie looked up startled. "You mean that?"

"Well, I won't say so for sure, that's up to your father. But my intention is to make the planet's orbit similar to earth, so Antareus will not have to be covered with domes and they can start growing real grass and have a water supply. That was the reason for this whole mess with the Solaris cube."

"I know you can do it, Superboy. I believe in you." Evie smiled and hugged him.

Troy, Xander and Tammox entered the room. Superboy rose up to attention.

"Superboy, we're ready for you. Are you ready to do this?"

"Yes. Are you sure the planet has been evacuated? I should do one more search around."

Both Xander and Tammox wanted to disagree, but Troy held up his hand and smiled. "You can never be too careful, you do what you have to Superboy. As for my daughter and Lana…" He turned to Tammox. "A deal is a deal, they go back to earth, _now_."

"Fine. Hurry it up, we need the Solaris back!"

Lana jumped up and clung to Superboy's arm. He turned and hugged her.

"Superboy, please be careful."

"I will Lana, I promise." He winked at Evie. "And I didn't forget my other promise to you, next weekend I'll be coming to take you and Lindsey on that flight."

Evie grinned. "It's a date!"

"Lana and Evie, come with me to the transportation room. This will take more than a gleep to send you home." Troy said and motioned them to follow. "Superboy, go do what you have to do, I'll signal you when they have gone."

Lana couldn't leave without a proper send-off for Superboy. She ran back up to him and he caught her in a firm, passionate kiss. "Promise that you'll come to me when you get back to earth, just so I know you are okay?" She sighed.

Superboy gently ran his hand over her cheek. "I will, Lana."

"I love you!" They both repeated in unison. Superboy smiled and Lana rejoined the others.

-Oo-

Superboy stood on the cliff near the Palace, the highest peak of Antareus. There was an eerie silence that pervaded the City below. He focused his super-hearing, but came up with nothing save the usual moans and groans of metal and a few electronic devices that were left on in the rush to get people to Xavariax. Satisfied, he flew into the air. It was time to make the move. He anticipated some structural damage, but Troy told him everything would be restored. Troy locked two enormous hooks into the planet's core. On Superboy's telepathic signal Troy was going to start up an extremely powerful device known as a Gravitational Mass-Shifter and aid him in pulling the planet along.

Keeping in mind the coordinates-he was to tilt the planet 25 degrees to the right and push it out of orbit two feet lower, Superboy geared himself and took a deep breath. After considering his options he decided to use his super-speed to accomplish most of the task.

Superboy started making slow rotations all around the planet on an angle and gradually built up speed. He was amazed how much energy he spent and the speed at which he flew, it was much greater than earth. He made a mental note to 'sun bathe' more often for enhanced power. The entire planet lurched.

_ "Troy! Pull down now!"_ He thought wildly.

Superboy's flight kept the planet stable and easier to handle. He flew down to the hooks and grasped one, feeling the tension of the mass-shifter at work. Superboy helped it along and within a few minutes of intense exertion the planet had made a two-foot drop. Superboy released the hook line; the pressure had left deep indentations in his hands. He hovered high above the small planet to catch his bearings. His muscles burned and sweat dripped down his face, but the exertion felt wonderful. He flew around to check the position. He grinned.

_ "It worked, Troy! And there's minimal surface damage."_

_"That's great, Clark! Let me know when you're ready for phase 2. I'm going to reset the hooks."_

Superboy helped him along by burrowing himself into the ground and pulling the hooks up. The tethers went taut and soared back into the spacecraft that housed the Mass-Shifter. Five minutes later they shot back out and landed on another section of the planet, tightly attaching into the core.

_"Okay, Superboy, this is it. I have also powered down the Solaris. Once the shift is complete I need you to bring it to Xavariax as soon as possible. You'll find it in a containment unit beneath Xander's quarters. He had lied to Tammox and us. The Solaris was never in a processing phase. He was holding it hostage until he would be able to destroy Xavariax with the war-head."_

_ "Troy, what's going to happen once the Trancer drug wears off?"_

_"Don't worry about that. He already signed leadership over to me, but to be fair about all this, I guess we'll take a page out of America's playbook and let the people decide. So far the odds are in my favor."_

Superboy readied himself for the next flight. _"Troy, one more thing, what about Evie and her mother? Once you become leader, would you be able to see them again?"_

_"Evie told me what you said to her about them visiting the planet. It was an option I didn't consider, but you are right! Once Antareus develops an atmosphere similar to earth, they can, and being the leader, I can surely lift the rules a bit."_

_ "I think Evie would love that. Okay, I'm set."_

_ "Superboy, literally, God's speed." _Troy replied.

-Oo-

**Planet Earth-The Bureau of Extra-Normal Matters**

Evie and Lana transported into the lobby within a hot pink haze of swirling colors. Lana stumbled out and let out a shout of relief. She looked around, noticing that everyone was still frozen in time.

"We made it! I hope Superboy does." She said worried.

Evie smiled. "Lana, I think Superboy is going to be fine. He has my father on his side and they know exactly what to do. I'm going to leave you here, I must return home now. When I unfreeze everyone, it will be as if nothing happened. Only you and Superboy will remember everything. Oh and one more thing, when I first came to the office I thought I saw Clark somewhere outside running late…" Evie fibbed. "I'm going to make sure that the boss doesn't remember he didn't make it on time to work. I feel bad."

Lana laughed and hugged Evie. "Thanks, Evie! Too bad Clark won't know what's going on."

"Yeah, totally. He seems like a nice guy." Her cheeks warmed.

"I think somebody has a crush! Don't worry, I'll never tell. Clark's one of the best." Lana chuckled. "Evie, I'll miss you. Maybe one day I can visit California, I've always wanted to tour Universal Studios and Hollywood."

"That would be great! My mom wouldn't mind. Maybe she'd even let me stay here for a little while too."

"Sure! But Capitol City can be a drag for a kid, but we have our own attractions around Florida. We'll plan it."

Evie closed her eyes and nodded quickly. A piece of paper with her contact information appeared in Lana's hand. "I've always wanted a pen-pal." She said shyly.

"I can do that too, Evie. It's been…interesting. Get home safely."

"Sure! See you around Lana, and when Superboy returns, tell him I hope he can still visit me and my friend Lindsey."

"I'll make sure he does."

Evie grinned and closed her eyes and then in the same swirling pink energy, she was gone. The office suddenly sprang to life and continued on its daily bustle. Lana went back to her desk to start on Clark's reports. An hour later she heard Jackson call out for 'Kent!' and when Lana raised her head she saw him run by her up the stairwell. She hadn't even seen him come in. She closed the folders and crept up to listen.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Jackson, sir, my utilities got shut off and then I had a flood in my apartment. It was such a mess. It was very irresponsible of me not to call and it will never happen again." Clark said sincerely.

"Kent! I don't know what you're even talking about! You've been here all day!"

Clark stared at him confused. "But Mr. Jackson, I…"

"Clark!" Lana grinned and raced up. "I'm so sorry that happened to you over _the weekend."_ She glared at him. "Did everything get worked out?"

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Why are you even telling me all this, Kent? If I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to make an excuse for something, but never mind. Did you finish that pile of folders I left?"

Clark glanced at his desk and then saw the pile on Lana's. "Well, yeah, well, almost! I'll have them all done by the end of the day."

"You better, because there's more where those came from."

"Right sir." Clark stepped aside to let him pass. "Thank you."

Jackson stared back up at him and then shook his head and wagged his hand. "I don't know…young people today are weird sometimes."

Lana raced upstairs and hugged Clark. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Really? Haven't you seen me all day?" Clark asked carefully.

Lana pulled back. "Sure, I mean…forget it." Lana nudged him. "You owe me big time! I've been pouring over those files and doing your dirty work as usual."

Clark realized that somehow everyone forgot the events and nobody realized aliens had ever come into the Bureau. Lana was no doubt playing along with everything, so Clark had to do the same. He grinned at her.

"It's great to see you too, Lana. What can I do to make it up to you?"

Lana pretended to think. "I would like dinner, but not just fried zucchini sticks at the bar outside, I've always wanted to go to the new revolving restaurant at the top of the Capitol State building." She batted her eyes at him.

Clark couldn't say no to her. He put an arm around her waist. "Okay, Lana, you win. And you deserve it. I heard the food was really good there. When would you like to go?"

"How about tomorrow night?"

"Sure! It's a date."

"And you can't break it, Clark. You've stood me up before. and it's pretty demeaning." She pouted.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I promise I won't."

They went beside her desk and Clark took the files back. "Are you sure you want to go out with…_me_?"

Lana stapled her reports. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" She smiled sweetly. "We're good friends, Clark, I love going out with you." She peered into his face. "Clark, you look really tired, are you getting enough sleep?"

"Yeah, but I had a restless night."

"Oh, okay. I just worry about you sometimes." She patted his arm and turned away before he could respond.

Clark stared after her adoringly as she went to Jackson's office and then took the files to a private nook upstairs again. In less than two minutes with super speed, the files were complete. That simple action wore him out; He was spent. He had never been put to the task of moving an entire planet before. It was one of the few times he realized his powers and strength had its limits. The orbit re-configuration went more successful than they hoped. When he went onto the planet he removed all the oppressive domes as his final saving act.

The heat ratio and exposure was near perfect, almost an exact replica of Earth's conditions. Superboy then helped Troy get everyone safely off Xavariax and home again. All were thrilled and Superboy was sure they would soon look to Troy as their new leader. The Xavarians retreated satisfied with their Solaris and a new pact was made between the two alien races, that they would now be allies. As for Xander and Tammox, they were to be tried, and the punishment for treason was exile to a place known throughout the universe as 'The Phantom Zone.' It was the first Superboy had ever heard of such a realm, but Troy explained that it was even used by the Council on Krypton for wrong-doers. Troy promised to keep in touch on the progress of Antareus and told Superboy if he ever needed help or had a desire to learn more of his origins, he was welcome to visit the planet whenever he pleased.

It was all in a day's work in the life of a superhero and Clark wouldn't change that for anything.

**The End.**


End file.
